I’ve mentioned that ‘Tainted Love’ is a cover a couple of other times on the blog, but it’s too good an example not to include here. Besides, this is the first time I’ve featured the excellent Gloria Jones original.

English new wave band Soft Cell took their version of this song to #1 in the UK and #8 in the United States in 1981, putting them high on any list of one-hit wonders. It’s hard to argue with the greatness of their slowed-down, synthed-up treatment. But there is more ‘Tainted Love’ to go around.

The 1965 version presented here was the B-side of a song called ‘My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home,’ which failed to chart for American singer-songwriter Jones.

A decade later, Jones re-recorded the song in England to capitalize on the UK’s “northern soul” scene. That 1978 version is quicker and more aggressive than this one, and it also failed to find an audience.

Soft Cell might have won the ‘Tainted Love’ battle, but they lost the war. While they are considered one-hit wonders, Jones had a successful career as both a performer and a songwriter (she wrote or co-wrote a number of Motown hits).

Jones had a son with T. Rex founder Mark Bolan in 1975 and sang backup vocals with his band for several years. In 1977, she was driving a car that hit a tree, breaking her jaw and killing Bolan. She recorded one more album after the incident, then left the music business.